 | "Initial cost" for channeling spells untenable.(1) | Category: PTR FeedbackJune-25-2014 8:23 PM PDT (10 years ago)  |
| The change is: an initial cost of 30 Arcane Power So, I've been running a disintegrate build for awhile....I even wrote a guide for it a few days ago: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/13204310667 The main challenge is channeling duration (and DPS...but that's another issue). I get about 12 seconds of channeling duration in town with my current setup. Since I have APOC on my source it goes out to about 15 seconds when fighting enemies. This works well most of the time. I need to kite and refill AP when fighting some champion packs...and certainly against Rift Guardians and other bosses multiple times. http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/PieHole-1628/hero/7646910 Now, there are several immediate effects that new change in the PTR has: Effect 1) My initial channel is only 9 seconds now (25% nerf) Effect 2) When you reach 0 AP you cannot channel again until you refill your AP back up to 30 AP. Well, the initial cost is 30 AP, so you channel for a millisecond and you are back to 0 AP. (100% nerf). You are forced to wait even longer before you can channel again. Effect 3 Discourages you from moving to avoid damage...since the cost to start casting again is so high. Effect 4 Knockbacks go from being annoying to flat-out impossible. Cost 30 AP after each knockback? Done. Effect 5 It costs you 30 AP just to open a door! ...or anything else blocking your way So, after channeling for 9 seconds...I have to wait another 9 seconds to refill my AP and do it all over again. Basically I'd only be doing damage for about half the time. ------------------------ I don't really see the need for this nerf. It's not like the disintegrate build is tearing up T6. Or killing Gohm in 6 seconds like the WD can. Storm Armor/Power of the Storm can easily allow for infinite channeling, but can't be used on the higher torments because you need Energy Armor instead. If infinite channeling is a problem then find another way to deal with it. All this change does is decrease the amount of damage that a wizard does in a world where it doesn't do enough damage to begin with. ------------------------ Supplementary Information: Earlier I said that I channel for about 12 seconds in town. That goes up to about 15 seconds against Gohm (single target)...and a little longer than that when surrounded by more monsters elsewhere. It gets tougher on T5 or T6 because you need to channel longer since the monsters have more life -and- the damage output from disintegrate just isn't enough (yes, there is a small increase with this patch which is nice). Here is what I have to do with my gear JUST to manage my AP consumption as stated above: - run Energy Armor (EA): that's 20 max AP gone right there. - use a wand and source for the Max AP secondary. That makes up for running EA. - Tal Rasha's 3-piece set: for the 2 AP/sec bonus - Captain Crimson's set: for the 10 Resource Cost Reduction (RCR) - 50 paragon points: for the 10 Resource Cost Reduction (RCR) - Source primary affix: 4 APOC - Source primary affix: 7 Resource Cost Reduction (RCR) - Shoulder primary affix: 7 Resource Cost Reduction (RCR) It was very discouraging to see that now we have to pay an additional cost of 30 AP up front. I only have 113 to begin with (after losing 20 to EA). So, although I get a ~15% buff to disintegrate damage....I get a 30% nerf to casting time. While not an issue on low torments, its a HUGE issue on higher torments where you need to channel longer when monsters have more life. And...if you have to move to avoid molten or plagued or an arcane beam or electrocute or run from that freaking annoying frozen pulse (or any of your other favorite affixes)....it immediately costs you another 30 AP to start channeling again. I already die enough trying to stand still and maintain my Unwavering Will passive....this change will make it even worse. I can't tell you how many more gear slots that it would take for more RCR. There only slot for more +Max AP is helm/hat....and that's either going to be Tal Rasha's Helm or Aughild's Helm...neither of which are wizard hats (which is what you need for the +Max AP). Using passive or active skill runes for better AP management takes away from defensive or offensive ones...and wizards are already challenged for defense and DPS. And, really, these changes just address AP/second spent and don't address any way to recover the large 30 point hit to AP. --> The disintegrate build already struggles on T6. This will relegate it to T4 or maybe T5 moving forward at the most. ________________________________________________ Diablo III Wizard MVP |My street cred is limited to the friendly confines of the wiz forum Piehole YouTube page: www.youtube.com/user/PieHole1628 Danger: Please do not feed the trolls! | ||
 | "Initial cost" for channeling spells untenable.(504) | July-3-2014 6:39 PM PDT (10 years ago) |
I don't really see the need for this nerf. I don't think our philosophy quite matched up with the actual changes that took place. Channeling spells, as the name implies, should be most effective when time is spent channeling them for a few seconds. We recognize the additional Arcane Power costs we implemented in the initial 2.1 PTR didn't accomplish this goal, but rather disincentivized using these skills. In the next PTR, you'll find we've removed the upfront Arcane Power cost from Arcane Torrent, Disintegrate, and Ray of Frost. In addition, the damage these abilities do with now scale upward over time, rewarding you for spending additional time channeling. These changes more accurate portray our design intent for these skills - that the longer you channel, the more reward it brings. Let us know what you think, especially once we patch the PTR and you can give these changes a try in practice. :) | ||
